Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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660. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the cost of restoring Leader funding to the level that was originally allocated under the 2007 to 2013 Rural Development Programme. [46328/15]

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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The original allocation for the LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 was just short of €400 million. The LEADER elements of the Rural Development Programme will provide €250 million in financial resources to support the development of sustainable rural communities. The cost of restoring funding to the 2007-2013 levels, therefore, would be an additional €150 million.

While the allocation for the LEADER elements of the 2014-2020 programming period is less than the value allocated for 2007 – 2013 programming period, I am confident that within the confines of the fiscal environment we have experienced in the recent past, the Government has allocated the maximum amount possible to support the LEADER elements of the 2014-2020 programme. This funding, coupled with the Government’s drive to increase coordination at a local level and the commitment to the delivery of the recommendations in the report of the Commission on the Economic Development of Rural Areas (CEDRA), will ensure that the impact of the available funding will be maximised to support the sustainable development of our rural communities.